On April 16, according to Taiwanese media reports:
“The epidemic has just eased, orders have returned to previous levels, and another coup happened.” A Taiwanese businessman sighed again and again.
Due to the attack on March 14, the guard room and four official vehicles of “Changyi Shoes”, the contract manufacturer of the sports shoe brand Adidas, were damaged and are currently suspended; Another Adidas foundry in Spida, “Pou Cheng International”, has not been directly attacked, but for the sake of employee safety, it has temporarily suspended operations.
He Mingkun, spokesman for Baocheng Industry, a subsidiary of Baocheng International, said that the footwear manufacturing business accounted for about 56% of Baocheng International’s consolidated revenue in 2020, and the other 44% came from sports goods retail. and brand agency business.
The company’s Myanmar factory, equipment and personnel are currently safe. “Orders will be supported by the company’s factories in Vietnam or Indonesia depending on the situation. There are three factories in Myanmar, Cambodia and Bangladesh. , footwear production and shipments accounted for only about 4% of the total production and shipments in 2020. Therefore, although the Myanmar factory has suspended production, the impact on the overall operations will be limited.”
The factory was completely destroyed, and the 3 billion investment project was ruined
Another Taiwanese businessman was not so lucky. According to our investigation, a company named “Winco Bag Industrial Corporation Limited” Bag Industry Co., Ltd.’s golf bag factory was burned down during demonstrations on March 16. It was the most severely affected enterprise among Taiwanese businessmen.
A Taiwanese businessman who did not want to be named even pointed out: “There are also two large international shoe manufacturers affected by the coup. In order to build a complete production line and supply chain in Myanmar, they have cooperated with many A small and medium-sized enterprise, a Taiwanese businessman, formed a group to develop industrial land. The total investment amount of the whole project was nearly 3 billion yuan. Now it has come to nothing, and the amount of losses is still being assessed.”
Another Taiwanese businessman Said, “Everyone is afraid to talk about losses. We are trying to keep a low profile now. Firstly, we are afraid that banks will collect money. Secondly, those who are still in Myanmar are also worried about the safety of their lives and property.”
Taiwanese businessmen are “forced to be strong” and choose to be optimistic
Amid the political turmoil in Myanmar, in addition to self-protection, Taiwanese shoe manufacturers Lai Qi, secretary-general of the Industrial Trade Association, pointed out that what Taiwanese businessmen fear most is “trade sanctions” and “bank withdrawals”.
U.S. Trade Representative Dai Qi announced on March 29 that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (UETR) will suspend the 2013 “Trade and Investment Framework Agreement” (TIFA) between the United States and All trade with Myanmar.
Lai Qijian observed that although there has not yet been a wave of divestment, the political situation in Myanmar remains unresolved. Taiwanese businessmen may move to Central Java, Indonesia and India for future factory expansion, and a small number of them will return to Indonesia. Mainland China, because Vietnam and Cambodia are already saturated. Why not go back to Taiwan? “I can’t even think about it.” He said that Taiwan has not signed a “free trade agreement” (FTA), and export tariffs are higher than others. In addition, most young people are unwilling to work as workers. “Everyone wants to go home, who wants to travel everywhere?” , but it really can’t be done in Taiwan.”
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